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Nicotine Replacement Therapy May Also Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Patches, gums, and nasal sprays prescribed for smoking cessation were found to be as effective in reducing alcohol consumption as prescribed varenicline and cytisine, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Boston Medical Center, and First Pavlov State Medical University in St. Petersburg, Russia, conducted a randomized clinical trial of 400 individuals in Russia who are living with HIV and engage in risky drinking and daily smoking. Heavy drinking was defined as having at least 5 drinks per day for men and 4 drinks per day for women. Study participants, who also all smoked at least 5 cigarettes per day, were tracked for 1 year.
The study was originally set up to compare the reduction in alcohol consumption among study participants who were prescribed varenicline or cytisine vs a control group that received retail nicotine replacement therapy products. After 3 months, however, alcohol consumption was decreased among all groups.
Overall, varenicline and cytisine were found to be no more effective than nicotine replacement therapy to treat risky drinking and smoking, but that behavior change rates were high in all groups tracked. The study also found that rates of alcohol abstinence were higher among those who quit smoking compared to those who continued to smoke.
“Our results, in combination with prior evidence, suggest several possible mechanisms by which nicotinic receptor partial and full agonists may reduce alcohol consumption,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion.
Study lead author Hilary A. Tindle, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Newsweek: “A single medication to treat both risky drinking and smoking could improve health efficiently and significantly.”
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